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Miss Modular · #1

Gee, that was quick.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g...s7U1gD8UI88PO0

French President Marries Former Model

By ANGELA DOLAND – 36 minutes ago

PARIS (AP) — French President Nicolas Sarkozy married former model Carla Bruni on Saturday at the Elysee Palace, according to the official who performed the ceremony.

"The bride wore white; she was ravishing, as usual," Francois Lebel, mayor of Paris' eighth arrondissement, or neighborhood, told Europe-1 radio. "The groom wasn't bad either."

It was a historic occasion, "the first time in the history of the Republic that a president has gotten married in office," as Lebel said.

Sarkozy, 53, and Bruni, 40, were married in the presence of about 20 close family and friends, Lebel said. He called the ceremony "a moment of family intimacy for the young newlyweds, of great simplicity and apparently a lot of affection between the spouses.

"I wished them a lot of happiness," he said.

Under French law, couples must tie the knot before a mayor to make their union official.

Sarkozy's openness about his private life has surprised many French, accustomed to presidents who keep their love lives under wraps.

At a news conference in January, Sarkozy revealed that the relationship was "serious" and hinted that wedding plans were in the works. But he refused to reveal the date for a wedding, saying only that France might learn about the nuptials once they had already taken place.

The couple went public with their relationship during a visit to Disneyland Paris, and they carried out their brief but highly publicized courtship in such places as the ruins of Petra, Jordan. The tabloids even showed the couple at an Egyptian beach resort, Bruni in a tiny black bikini, Sarkozy in trunks, gold chain and Ray-Ban sunglasses.

Sarkozy's approval ratings dropped during their courtship — in part, analysts say, because many older, more traditional voters were put off by his glitzy, jet-setting style.

During their romance, Sarkozy was nicknamed the "bling-bling president" by the media. He reportedly gave Bruni a pink heart-shaped diamond Dior engagement ring, while she gave him a Swiss-made Patek Philippe watch.

The wedding was the third for Sarkozy, who has three children. It was the first for Bruni, an Italian-born heiress who had a major modeling career and a well-publicized lovelife. Bruni, now a singer, dated rockers Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton, tycoon Donald Trump and actor Vincent Perez. She has a young son, Aurelien, from a relationship with philosophy professor Raphael Enthoven.

Miss Modular · #2

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080202/...ni_marriage_dc

France's Sarkozy marries Bruni at the Elysee
By Crispian Balmer and Sudip Kar-Gupta1 hour, 6 minutes ago

French President Nicolas Sarkozy married supermodel-turned-singer Carla Bruni at the Elysee Palace on Saturday, just three months after they started dating, French officials and family said.

The pair tied the knot at a low-key, civil ceremony conducted by the mayor of the Paris district that houses the president's grandiose official residence.

"I married two voters ... who live at 55 Rue du Faubourg St Honore," Mayor Francois Lebel told Europe 1 radio, giving the official address of the Elysee.

"The bride was wearing white and was ravishing, as usual," he said, adding: "The bridegroom wasn't bad either."

Another official told Reuters the wedding took place at 11 a.m. (5 a.m. EST) and Italian news agency ANSA quoted Bruni's mother, Marisa Borini, as confirming the event.

Sarkozy's spokesman declined to comment.

Sarkozy and Bruni indicated last month that they planned to marry after a whirlwind romance and made clear that it would be a private affair, far from the eyes of the press.

Their relationship has been splashed across the media and Sarkozy's popularity ratings have plunged in recent weeks, with voters complaining that the president was focusing too much on his private life and not enough on the country's many problems, including rising prices and flagging consumer confidence.

Now they are wed, Sarkozy might find it easier to manage the relationship because Bruni will become the first lady of France and will start traveling with him on his many overseas trips.

HISTORICAL

Lebel said the wedding took place in a room on the first floor of the Elysee Palace and lasted about 20 minutes.

"There were around 20 people there, close family and a few friends," he said. The mayor said the last French head of state to marry while in office was Napoleon III in 1853.

Sarkozy, 53, separated from his second wife Cecilia last October following an 11-year marriage and just five months after winning power. His colleagues said he was deeply upset by the divorce.

However, friends say he started seeing 40-year-old Bruni the following month and they were photographed visiting Paris Disneyland together in December. They then spent the Christmas holidays together in Egypt and Jordon.

Photos of the glamorous couple sparked a media backlash against Sarkozy, who was widely described as "president Bling Bling," obsessed by the rich and famous. One opposition leader dubbed him a modern-age Louis XIV, France's "Sun King."

Their quickfire relationship also surprised many in his entourage.

Bruni, 40, has been portrayed as a man-eater in the press and has previously been linked with rock stars Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton, as well as U.S. businessman Donald Trump and French former Socialist Prime Minister Laurent Fabius.

While she is a well-known leftist sympathizer, Sarkozy is a right-winger, viewed as a law and order hardliner.

Sarkozy's own mother urged him not to re-marry after his divorce and Bruni herself has spoken out against marriage. "I'm monogamous from time to time, but I prefer polygamy and polyandry," she told the Figaro Madame magazine a year ago.

She has a son from a previous relationship, while Sarkozy has two grown-up sons from his first marriage, and a third son from his marriage to Cecilia.

Bruni threw a surprise birthday party for Sarkozy last week at her plush Paris home and friends say the pair are extremely happy together.

RTL radio said Sarkozy's witness at the wedding was Nicolas Bazire, a senior figure in the LVMH luxury goods group, while Bruni's witness was Mathilde Agostinelli, head of communications at Prada France.

The radio station also quoted Bernadette Chirac, wife of previous French President Jacques Chirac, as saying getting married at the Elysee, the president's official residence, was "a wonderful thing."

"I want to express all my best wishes to this new household. She is very, very beautiful," she added.